


Long & Lost

by shannyfish



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Doctor Who References, F/M, Geek References Everywhere, Gen, Harrison Wells is Felicity's father, Sequel, SnowBarry implied, Starling City, Team Arrow, Team Flarrow, Team Flash, Trapped, held captive, middle of nowhere, olicity - Freeform, science friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-13
Updated: 2015-07-13
Packaged: 2018-04-09 03:25:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4331991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shannyfish/pseuds/shannyfish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to "The Precious Few".  Felicity realizes that there’s little to no chance of Team Arrow or Team Flash finding her where the Reverse Flash/Harrison Wells (aka her father) has taken her, so she pushes boundaries in order to try to somehow get a message out or to get herself out.  Is she fast enough to outsmart and outrun the Reverse Flash?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Long & Lost

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, real life was attacking me all week...so it took all week for me to finish this. It's also nearly twice as long as I intended. So, there's that. 
> 
>  
> 
> Let's see who can spot all the geeky references ;)
> 
>  
> 
> Hope you enjoy! <3

_Lost in the fog, these hollow hills_  
_Blood running hot, night chills_  
_Without your love I'll be_  
_So long and lost, are you missing me?_

_Is it too late to come on home?_  
_Are all those bridges now old stone?_  
_Is it too late to come on home?_  
_Can the city forgive? I hear its sad song_

_I need the clouds to cover me_  
_Pulling them down, surround me_  
_Without your love I'll be_  
_So long and lost, are you missing me?_

_Is it too late to come on home?_  
_Are all those bridges now old stone?_  
_Is it too late to come on home?_  
_Can the city forgive? I hear its sad song_

_It's been so long between the words we spoke_  
_Will you be there up on the shore, I hope_  
_You wonder why it is that I came home_  
_I figured out where I belong_  
  
_~ “Long & Lost” by Florence & The Machine_  
  
   *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*     
  
  
The rain fell, lightening lit the sky, and thunder cracked overhead. Felicity hadn’t dressed for this kind of downpour. She was in jeans, a long sleeve shirt, a jacket, boots…but nothing water proof…and the treads of her boots weren’t doing well against the squish and sliding of the mud that was forming below her. This was the farthest he’d let her go. Normally, once it got dark, once it was about the time he wanted to have dinner, he’d find her, and then bring her home. She’d slept under a tree with her arms crossed tightly against her chest and woken in the same place. Felicity had gotten up and just continued to walk. The only other things that she’d brought with her was a water bottle and a couple of granola bars. Slowly, she’d been rationing things.

Even though she’d walked so far, it seemed like she still had so far to go. The mountains that had seemed so far away from the house now still felt just as far…if not farther. Was it possible for them to be farther? Felicity wondered for a moment if it was possible that she’d gotten turned around at one point, but then she saw it, a point on the mountain that she’d been walking towards. It wasn’t anything that made the mountain side distinct, but it was enough for her to keep herself going in the right direction. It was a splotch that looked greenish and shaped almost like a lightening bolt. It was her compass. It was all she had.

Home.

That was all she wanted.

It had been weeks.

Did she expect anyone to find her?

No.

How could they?

She was in the middle of nowhere without any way to set up any kind of flare. She was trapped, held prisoner in a prison that she was free to leave at any time (it was just the whole getting to civilization part that made it all difficult). Felicity held tight to a small tree trunk and just tried to decide whether she should stop or continue onward. Thoughts cycled through her head as she thought of all of the reasons why Wells hadn’t retrieved her yet. How far could she get? How far was she from the rest of the world?

All she could think was that waiting around wasn’t going to get her anywhere. It was raining, the sky was dark over head and it seemed to only be darkening, expect when it lit up and then roared with lightening and thunder. It wasn’t raining THAT hard, though. It was just enough to make it slow going, cold, and muddy. Felicity knew that the only way that she was going to get home was for her to get herself home. If that meant climbing a mountain, she was going to do it! Nothing was going to stop her!

Felicity pressed forward, walking as carefully as she could in a hurried pace as she moved along. There was a sound that excited her, the sound of rushing water. Moving towards it, she tried not to think about how her shirt clung to her, how her jacket only held in the cold, how her jeans were making it harder to move in, how her thick socks were soaked, or how uncomfortable it was to walk in those boots. Somehow it seemed like the mud thickened the closer she got to the sound of water, it would squish and squash and her boot would feel like the mud was trying to swallow it up. It took longer to make her journey, but finally she came upon a stream of water. It rushed along, did that mean it was a river? It really didn’t matter, she thought, as she grabbed at a nearby tree…trying to keep herself upright and unstuck.

She was up above the river, but it was still accessible if she carefully walked down the slope, even if it was a muddy one. Scanning the area, Felicity looked for the least step incline. Taking a step downward, she she looked around again as the entire area flooded with the sound of thunder. The lightning flash came a moment later. The Reverse Flash stood below near the river’s edge. He didn’t scare her, though. For a moment, she pondered asking him what had taken him so long, but she really didn’t want to hear his reasoning.

An unexpected yelp sounded from her as Felicity sunk more into the ground, the foundation beneath her feeling like it was crumbling away as she began to plummet down the slope. Her quick descent not allowing for her to catch herself to skid to a halt, instead she just tumbled downward before gravity found her crashing and plunging into the freezing river below. Not once did he try to stop her. Not once did he try to save her.

Did she need saving?

No and definitely not by him.

A second later, the edges of her vision started to go black and she realized that different parts of her body hurt. Felicity blinked a few times, the Reverse Flash standing over her wordlessly. Her ankle, her arm, her wrist, her knee, and her head all screamed out in pain. She clung to reality and consciousness, but it was for naught.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

The sound of screaming woke her. Her eyes slid open and she first found her father sitting there next to her bed eating popcorn as he stared right ahead, a grin on his face. She didn’t question his behavior or his presence. There wasn’t a need. Instead, her eyes followed his gaze and found that he was enjoying the first ‘Jurassic Park’ movie and the part that was playing was when Dennie Nedry was in his jeep with the Dilophosaurus as he incapacitated the rotund bad guy with the poison that the dinosaur spit.

“You had me worried for a moment,” Wells spoke up.

“I doubt it,” she muttered as she groaned and rolled so her back was to him. Felicity didn’t care what games he thought he could play with her. She’d tried to play along, but it was useless. It just wasn’t in her nature to lie or to live a lie of a life. No matter what he did, she was going to be miserable there.

“I keep thinking that perhaps we should have a guest, but then I remember YOUR protests,” he reminded. “It doesn’t just have to be the two of us.”

“No one else needs to be your prisoner.”

“You’re not a prisoner, Felicity,” he said with a sigh. Frustration was clear in his voice. This wasn’t the first time they’d been on this subject. It was certain that it wouldn’t be the last time either. “You’re my daughter, we’re family…think of this more as a…family vacation.”

Family vacation.

Growing up, she’d never had a family vacation. There had been a couple of boyfriends her mother had been involved with that would rent out a room for the weekend at a really swanky Vegas hotel, complete with room service and the best pool in the city. Her mother would call those vacations, but really…it had just been living somewhere else for the weekend while her mother left her alone in the hotel room at night and would expect her to be asleep when she returned with her date. As an adult, she really hadn’t done the whole vacation thing. She was a person who worked and the closest that she and the team probably got to vacationing was the mission to Russia or going to Lian Yu. Both of those were very much on Felicity’s list of places not to vacation.

“Can’t you watch this in your own room?” she asked grumpily.

“I was concerned about you,” Wells replied.

Felicity didn’t believe him.

“I just want to be left alone,” she finally told him. Her hopes were that he’d leave her alone, but he didn’t budge.

“You have a sprained ankle, bumps, bruises, swelling, and a pretty good knot on your head.”

“I’ll survive…or maybe I won’t…”

“That’s not funny.”

This was one of the few times in her life where she wasn’t going for funny, she was dead serious. The deal had been made to save her friends, her family…the truth was…she didn’t know how she could continue this if Wells wouldn’t give her space when she asked for it. Really, she didn’t ask for much…she pretty much knew not to ask for anything because most things he wouldn’t allow.

How did he expect her to be happy?

To live there contently?

It just wasn’t going to happen.

“Perhaps I should just surprise you and bring someone to visit,” Wells said once the audio of the video was paused or stopped. “I mean, if you have a preference…you know I’d go with that…but so far, you’re being rather difficult.”

Difficult.

This wasn’t difficult.

“Stubborn even.”

“Genetic,” she insisted. Likely on both counts. Felicity stared at a point on the wall and she just sighed. Why couldn’t he just leave and leave her alone? Why did he have to be there? Why did he have to pretend to care? If he wanted her to be difficult and stubborn, then she could do it. Felicity could make his life miserable. She could make it worse for both of them. He wanted to be a parent, to deal with a child…she could give him all the twenty-five years of raising a child that he’d missed out on.

“There has to be something I can do to make you more comfortable.”

Felicity just lay there for a moment before speaking up again. “I already asked you to leave. You denied my request.”

“Fine.” Wells was silent for all of a beat before speaking up again. “But me leaving your room isn’t going to change things. It’s just going to mean that I’m a bit farther from you. You can’t change DNA.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

It was morning, the light filtered in and woke her. The welcoming smell of coffee greeted her, but she hadn’t decided on whether leaving the confines of her bed for anything other than the bathroom was a good plan yet. Her ankle was definitely sprained, but she could deal with it. Her one side, she swore, was completely bruised and she sort of thought that she’d sprained her one wrist. Could you sprain an arm? That whole side possibly…

No matter how much she despised Wells, though, she HAD made the deal. As much as she just wanted him to leave her alone, that didn’t mean that she had to let HIM affect her happiness there. So, hesitantly and unsure if this was foolish, she left her bed. There was a lot of cringing, yelps, and groans as she dressed. Really, she wanted to take a hot shower, but that was going to have to wait. She was actually fairly hungry since she hadn’t really eaten much the day before.

Venturing out of her room, Felicity found that she wasn’t alone. “Oh my God…” She’d been expecting Wells to be out there or for her to have been left alone. From what she could see, THEY were alone, but it definitely wasn't Harrison Wells there with her.

Caitlin Snow.

Felicity had told him to keep the others out of it. To leave them alone and to let them live their lives. Company was always nice, but Felicity hadn’t wanted them drawn into things. She’d made the sacrifice to protect all of them.

This wasn’t right.

Felicity just stared at Caitlin for a long moment. She was sitting on the couch and then suddenly got to her feet. Blinking, she hoped that she was just an illusion, but she wasn’t.

Caitlin was real.

Caitlin was there.

“Not exactly the greeting I was expecting…”

“But you—and you’re not—and he said—and—and—how long have you been here?”

Caitlin shrugged for a moment. “I woke up here on the couch and just didn’t go too far from it.” She was dressed in pajamas, so it was likely that she’d been abducted in her sleep or drugged and abducted…she supposed that the details really didn’t matter. Not now.

“Maybe this is to punish me…”

“Punish you?”

When Caitlin said it, Felicity realized how silly that had to sound to her friend. “I—I tried to leave this place…I mean, I left the house…I actually got pretty far…he was gone for more than a day…or he let me get that far…” She paused and shook her head. None of that really mattered, did it? “Anyways…I feel down this slope and ended up in the river…” Her hand lifted to the knot on her head. “I must have hit my head…that’s why I blacked out…” That was all she had to say and Caitlin was right there, examining her.

“Doesn’t seem that bad. Do you know how long you were unconscious after hitting your head?” Caitlin asked, going into doctor mode.

“I don’t know. A while.”

“You could have a concussion.”

“I don’t feel…concussed.”

Caitlin took a step back. “Other injuries I should be aware of?”

Well, she HAD said she’d fallen down a slope and into a river and hit her head, so she could see how Caitlin could assume that she was likely injured elsewhere. “My whole right side hurts…and apparently Wells said that I sprained my right ankle…though I’m doing okay on it right now, it’s tender though…”

“I’m going to want to look at that,” Caitlin told her. Caitlin was definitely a doctor on a mission and Felicity was suddenly extremely happy for her being there. “But first…I REALLY REALLY need a bathroom…” She paused for a moment, a finger going up. “Also, you never really addressed why I am a punishment.”

Felicity pointed in the direction she’d come and gave her quick directions.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

"So this is your prison, huh?”

“I know, it’s pretty to look at…”

“It’s not an illusion, though?”

Felicity shook her head before taking a sip of coffee from the mug between her hands. She could see why Caitlin might think so as they sat on the front steps on the porch in front of the house that now seemed to be a prison for both of them. “I don’t know how far everything is…but I felt like I got pretty far before he found me, I fell, and he brought me back…”

“This would be nice…for like a vacation,” Caitlin told her. “But I—“

“This place is CREEPY!”

They both froze and started to look around. It was familiar and for a moment, Felicity had just thought that she was hearing things. Eventually, she and Caitlin found Cisco standing on one side of the house. Caitlin had immediately run to hug him, but Felicity just felt guilty. They weren’t supposed to be there. God, she loved them and she knew that it would make it easier…and that at the same time that Wells thought of them as his children as well, but…it just wasn’t right.

“We’re apparently a punishment,” Caitlin told Cisco.

Felicity finally approached him, unable to hold back anymore and hugged him in turn. “I’m glad you’re here, though…”

“There aren't velociraptors or anything hiding out there, right?” Cisco asked. “This place totally looks like a place where raptors would just suddenly jump out and surround you…”

A laugh escaped her as she pulled back. “Not that I saw on my last exploration…”

“It’s like we’re stuck in ‘The Village’ except there’s not freaking village…” Cisco commented and looked around. “Is there a safe color? Do we need to wear cloaks? Does Wells run around in a red cloak with some creepy costume to keep us confined to this immediate area?”

“Great, I needed more material for nightmares,” Caitlin muttered.

“He lets me get so far…and then he brings me back,” Felicity explained. “Last night being the farthest I’ve gotten…”

“And you ended up hurt,” Caitlin reminded. She crossed her arms over her chest and seemed to hate the situation more and more every minute.

“I’m fine,” she brushed off before Cisco could ask.

Cisco started to look around. “No wonder we couldn’t find you…I mean, we really didn’t have much in the ay of clues anyways…I tried to track Wells’ streak…but there’s only so much I can do with what I have access to…and let’s face it… You’re just faster, Felicity.”

Felicity smiled a bit at that comment. “Do you want coffee?” she asked.

“You mean, go into the creepy house?”

Shrugging, she looked around. “Unless you’re going to walk to the nearest Starbucks.”

“That’s so tempting…”

Shaking her head, she and Caitlin took Cisco’s arms and led him into the house. It wasn’t much, but right now it was theirs…and they could have a moment to catch up. Felicity wanted to hear everything. It hadn’t been that long, but she knew that there had been so much that she’d missed out on. So much that they could tell her. So far that morning, she’d mostly just vented to Caitlin about living there, of being alone in that world that Wells had dropped her in.

They all sat together several minutes later on the porch, mugs in hands, as they stared out at the stretch of beautiful landscape that was their natural prison. As much as she hated them being there, she was glad. Felicity was certain that that was extremely selfish,but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t get to spend enough time with Caitlin and Cisco and they were so good together, all of them.

“So…at least this is nicer than being stuck in the Pipeline, right?” Caitlin broke the silence.

They all let out laughs. “I mean, it’s nice to look at, too… It would actually be pretty cool…you know, if there was internet…and it wasn’t a prison…”

“You’d probably prefer dinosaurs, too,” Felicity teased.

Cisco beamed. “I just was hoping for some adventure to keep us occupied while Doc—the Reverse Flash isn’t around…”

The Reverse Flash.

Harrison Wells.

Felicity’s father.

“Zombies,” Felicity shot out.

“Nice… Though, I’m not sure any of those things would be good to have around since this structure likely isn’t reinforced with a heavy enough material… We need like a concrete or steel super enforced building.” He paused for a moment. “Does this thing have like a bunker under it?”

“Basement,” Felicity told him. “Concrete walls. Computers down there. Apparently there’s also internet, but it’s like super restrictive…so far, I haven’t figured out how to get into it without Wells finding out… The door might be metal, if that helps anything, no lock, though…”

Cisco looked floored now. “Seriously?! No lock?!”

“I think he was trying to hinder my ability to hide and/or escape…though logically, he could likely just vibrate the door and get through…or…even…possibly…run right through it…if he’s theoretically running fast enough.” She looked over at Caitlin and Cisco. “Can he run that fast?”

“We have no idea,” Caitlin admitted.

“To answer your question, I can.”

They all looked behind them to find Wells standing there dressed in casual clothing, a mug of coffee in hand. How long had he been standing there? She hadn’t even heard him! And how the hell did he get past them without them knowing it? Was there another entrance? Had he snuck in through a window?

“I’m just going to throw out there…I’m NOT happy to see you,” Cisco commented.

That just seemed to amuse Wells. “That’s fine, Cisco… I, however, am glad to have all three of you together…”

“It’s almost like getting the band back together…except…you know, we’re missing someone.”

Wells smirked in response. “Barry was a…liability…” He shook his head. “But I’m sure he would have enjoyed your ponderings of if there are velociraptors out there…” Felicity just stared at him, that meant that he’d been there a lot longer than she’d thought. He’d stayed around and listened to them. “Also, I would urge you all to leave the computers and internet alone…or else I’ll be forced to disconnect the electricity. Now, this place can get fairly cold at night…unless you’d all like to conserve body heat together?”

No one responded.

“While you decide that amongst yourselves and explore…just know that I expect you all back for dinner promptly at six,” Wells told him.

Once Wells was gone, Felicity found them both staring at her. “I honestly don’t think we’re going to be able to get out of it,” she told them honestly. “We don’t show up…he’s going to drag us there… I’ve found that sitting there, eating, and ignoring him can work.”

“Won’t it be like going off to the dark side if we eat the dinner he’s prepared?” Cisco questioned. “I’m assuming he’s cooking, since he didn’t say anything about any of us doing that.”

“Yep, he’ll cook.”

Cisco shrugged. “At least there’s that.”

“We can always marathon ‘X-Files’ after,” Felicity brought up, trying to put a good spin on it.

“Yay…” Caitlin mumbled non-enthusiastically and then groaned. “More fuel for nightmares…”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

They spent the day walking towards the woods and just talking. Wells had taken up residence in the kitchen and they all wanted to be as far away from that as possible. It was a beautiful day and they’d brought along snacks and water bottles and already knew that they had to be back on time. Felicity had planned on them being back at five and almost didn’t know how Wells had felt okay letting her have a watch. She was surprised that Wells didn’t think that she and Cisco might somehow be able to MacGyver it into some kind of beacon or something.

“You know…we should really be thinking about our escape plan,” Cisco brought up.

“I thought that it was clear that there is NO way out of here,” Caitlin argued.

Felicity hated that they were stuck there with her, only because she felt responsible…and she hadn’t wanted anyone else to suffer at Wells’ hands. “There HAS to be some way to get out…or let the others know where we are.”

“Oooo let the others know where we are,” Cisco said as he shook his hands. Obviously ideas were popping into his head, Felicity had been around him enough to know that that was how he reacted when that kind of thing happened. “Even if we don’t have everything we would at the Foundry or even at STAR Labs, I think maybe we could make something…”

“I tried hacking through Netflix once,” Felicity offered.

Caitlin’s head suddenly cocked to the side. “A couple of weeks ago…Barry said his Netflix account was being weird… It kept playing nothing, but ‘Doctor Who’.”

“It wasn’t just that…it was that it was the one weeping angels episode where they’re on the ship and he said it kept repeating ONLY the scene where they’re in the tree-borg forest,” Cisco supplied and then froze. He stared at her for a long moment. “That was you?”

Felicity shrugged. “I think that’s the hardest I’ve ever had to try to hack into anything… It was all I could think up…”

“Maybe Barry owes that Netflix customer service agent an apology,” Caitlin spoke up.

“Do you think Wells will bother us? Since it’s making his creepy, awkward family dinner?” Cisco asked. “I mean…for all we know he’s going to poison us.”

“That’s a lot of work to go to just to kill us,” Caitlin pointed out. “ALSO, I really don’t need you to keep adding to my list of reasons to have nightmares.”

Cisco just shrugged. “Sorry Cait… Let’s face it, reality sucks…”

Felicity didn’t miss Caitlin rolling her eyes in response. “I think he’s going to definitely make sure we’re not doing anything we shouldn’t be doing,” she explained. “BUT I mean, we could go down there and pretend to marathon something and you could scoop out things…then maybe we could try to smuggle it out? Assemble whatever we come up with in the woods?”

“We have time,” Caitlin reminded as she tilted her head to the side.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“Back so soon?” Wells smirked. He was drinking coffee on the front porch when they got back. Felicity hated when he had that look on his face, it just made her angrier. “I figured that you’d try to hike out…again…” He adjusted his glasses on his face. “Though, Felicity already knows that that is pointless…”

Felicity ignored him. She wasn’t going to get into it with him. Right now, they had a mission. That mission didn’t include Wells and exchanging any bantering with him. “We were just going to go marathon ‘X-Files’—“

“Really? Can’t we watch something that’s NOT going to add to the list of things to be irrationally afraid of?” Caitlin questioned, slightly irked at her suggestion.

“You’ll survive!” Cisco said as he grabbed her and started up the steps past wells quickly. “We’ll protect you!”

They were already in the house when Felicity stepped up on the porch and just stared at him for a long moment. “How long are you going to keep them here?”

“This is the closest to happy that I’ve seen you…why would they leave?” Wells asked.

“It wasn’t part of our deal…”

“Neither was your attempts at escape.”

“We both know that there’s no way that I would ever get over that mountain,” Felicity said. “And unless somehow the particle accelerator affected me…I’m not a speedster…you’ve got me…I’m trapped… You’ve won.”

“I don’t want to WIN,” Wells told her. “I just want to keep you safe and be your father.”

“You got the father part done,” Felicity pointed out. “I’m here. Biologically you contributed to my being.”

He looked disappointed. “You know what I mean…”

And she did.

“Keeping me here…keeping US here… It’s not going to get you that,” Felicity told him honestly and evenly. Her eyes never left his and her voice wasn’t soft. “It’s only going to make me hate you—“

“I’m not a villain, Felicity.”

“You’re not a hero.” That was the last word she had with him before heading into the house and going to find where Cisco and Caitlin had wandered off to (not that there were many places to go).

It didn’t take her long to find them. Caitlin was looking for something to watch, apparently she was more keen on romantic comedies than science fiction. It really didn’t matter to Felicity. Right now, their mission was to scout of parts and tools they had access to and what they could build from them. They also had to just hope that they could transport the material out of the house.

“It would really help to know where we are,” Cisco muttered.

“Even if this were to work,” Felicity said quiet. “There’s still the fact that we can’t stop Wells.” She sat down with Caitlin on the couch and let Cisco look around. Even if Wells DID follow them, he’d just take it that they were trying to decide what they were going to watch and Cisco was being curious.

Caitlin was still browsing Netflix, but spoke up anyways. “The only thing that even SLOWED Barry was—“ She stilled suddenly and looked over at Felicity and then Cisco. “The cold gun,” they all said together.

“We don’t have that,” she reminded, but her mind was already working. It wasn’t just her, though, she could see that Cisco and Caitlin’s minds were working like crazy. Felicity had a feeling that this really wasn’t going to be solved BEFORE the creepy, awkward family dinner.

“I may have an idea…” Cisco said slowly.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Dinner was not creepy, awkward…but it was quiet awkward. It was weird because even though it was awkward, in a way…they were really all like this family. If Wells wasn’t the Reverse Flash and he hadn’t deceived them all and was, well, evil…then, perhaps this would have been nice. Of course, if it was supposed to be really right, then Barry would be there. Wells had been right, they were all like they could be his children.

“So, have you made plans?” Wells asked.

The silence had stretched on until just that point, in which everyone just stared at Wells. It was like he could see into their brains. Felicity had a feeling, though, that it was just because he knew them. “We were going to introduce Caitlin to ‘Fringe’. It only made five seasons, but it’s one of those shows that—“

“You know that’s not what I meant.”

Their eyes met and Felicity just hoped that she’d become a better liar than she’d been when she’d first joined Team Arrow. They just stared at each other for a long moment. “You were careful when you put together this place. We don’t know even KNOW where we are. The only ways out of here are by speedster…which none of us are…OR by some kind of flying device…which I don’t see us constructing with what we have here…and I doubt we could hide something like that from you.”

Wells just stared back, a smile on his face. “I suppose that even though having Caitlin and Cisco here seems to make you happier, I have also put myself in some trouble…the three of you are smarter together than just you on your own Felicity…”

“Should just take them home then,” Felicity told him. Her eyes never left him. It wasn’t that she was being mean, she just still didn’t think that any response was going to sway Wells. It was obvious to her that he really wasn’t threatened by them. He honestly thought he was smarter. If Barry were there, unable to be speedy, she was certain that even THEN…Wells wouldn’t be worried about them concocting some way to escape.

“Well, perhaps we shouldn’t be so hasty…”

She hated him.

“You know…if we’re all going to hang around for a bit longer…I’m not sure if this place is REALLY big enough for all of us… I mean, I like to build things,” Cisco rambled on. “Caitlin likes to do weird things—“

“Weird. Things?” Caitlin questioned and glared a bit at Cisco.

Cisco just shrugged in response.

“Cisco’s right,” she spoke up. Felicity looked right at Wells. “You said that we’re like your children. Me. Barry. Caitlin. Cisco. I know that you would never expect us to sit around and do nothing, to waste our talents…to act like vegetables on that couch downstairs watching every single thing on Netflix.”

Wells just seemed amused. “Well, you, Felicity ARE my daughter…and you’re right. I really don’t expect you all to squander away your talents here…but at the same time, I do not wish to release you out into the world just yet…not until we’re all on the same page.”

“What are you going to do?” Cisco asked. “Brainwash us? Because let’s be honest, that’s the ONLY way you’re going to get us to cooperate and work with you again.”

“And the only reason why you didn’t bring Barry here is because of his speed,” Caitlin said.

“You’re right,” Wells said.

“What kind of endgame do you have? You did all of this…set things in motion—“

“But I never expected to be reunited with my daughter,” Wells explained. “And I never expected to develop feelings…for any of you…it was never my intention of becoming so attached…” He shook his head, a smile spread across his face. “But my endgame…well, I think that’s a bit too weighty for this conversation…suffice it to say, I need Barry…which might mean that I’ll need to use you all to control him.”

“What about Barry? What makes him so special—I mean, I know why he’s special, it’s just—“ Felicity rambled on.

“His speed,” Caitlin spoke up. “If you—“

“How about we all just move on to dessert? I need to prep it,” Wells said as he got to his feet.

“God, I’m still not used to that,” Cisco groaned.

None of them were. It was clear on Caitlin’s face that she wasn’t used to it either. It was creepy and it just reminded them all of the fact that their lives when it came to STAR Labs was full of so many lies, Harrison Wells was a walking…speeding…reminder of that. Felicity was glad that he was leaving the table, she’d not touched most of the dinner he’d prepared. It was actually quite good. Chicken with mushrooms, green beans, and red skin potatoes in a marsala wine sauce.

Wells was almost into the kitchen when Caitlin spoke up. “You said you picked all of us…the best of the best…that you never intended to care for us like children,” Caitlin said quiet. It wasn’t exactly her tone, it was the fact that it was Caitlin. She was quiet and collected, but at the same time…icy. It was enough to stop Wells and cause him to turn.

“Is there a question laced in that statement?” Wells questioned.

Felicity and Cisco’s eyes were between Caitlin and Wells the entire time, not knowing what was going to happen. Just waiting and hoping that nothing got worse. She was fairly sure that they’d come up with a fairly viable plan, they just had to make it through dinner to put it in effect.

“You wanted the particle accelerator built,” Caitlin stated. “Was it your plan for it to explode, too?”

“Yes, in fact, it was,” Wells said simply. “Though, I had never expected for Ronnie to be caught in it… I had never expected the continual ramifications that we keep seeing from it. My reasonings behind it is complex and quite frankly…just not something I’m ready or willing to share with any of you at the moment.”

It had been on purpose.

Silence filled the room.

‘What if’s filling the place of it all.

Wells left them with that thought hanging in the air. A million thoughts flooded her head, but all she could think was that if the particle accelerator ‘accident’ had never happened, then Barry wouldn’t be The Flash…and she wouldn’t have Caitlin and Cisco as friends. Team Arrow and Team Flash would have never come together. So many things might not have happened if the particle accelerator hadn’t blown—

“Cait…Oh God, Cait…”

Felicity’s head snapped her attention to where Caitlin and Cisco were sitting together. Tears were flowing quite freely from her eyes. Cisco was doing his best to comfort her. How did you comfort someone who just found out that not only was everything they’d done over the last few years a lie? But also, that the man that you loved…that you had intended on marrying…who was a victim of the particle accelerator that night…that Wells had intended for it to blow? How did you cope with that?

They shouldn’t be there.

This was her fault.

It really was the most awkward and horrible family dinner in history. Felicity found herself unable to eat anymore. She didn’t want dessert. She wanted air. She needed it, but at the same time she didn’t want to leave Caitlin or Cisco. “I need some air,” she announced and got up. She saw Caitlin and Cisco look towards her.

“Me too,” Caitlin said and got to her feet a little clumsily. Cisco was right behind her.

Felicity wrapped her arm around Caitlin once she was in distance and they headed out to sit on the porch. They really couldn’t go much further. Wells was going to expect them to have dessert at the very least before he would declare that night over with. They needed that. They needed to try to work on the project they’d already started. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered as she held Caitlin as she cried. It wasn’t enough, she knew that, but it was all she could come up at that moment. Nothing she said would reverse the sands of time…they couldn’t just go back to that moment and pull Ronnie from STAR Labs and just run…

“Ronnie is not on you,” Caitlin mumbled into her shoulder.

Sometimes it felt like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. Felicity still felt responsible. Wells was her father, which made her feel like his sins were hers…even if she didn’t have anything to do with them or him. “I’m still sorry…”

Eventually, they were all just sitting on the porch steps in silence. Felicity looked upward and wished that she knew more about astronomy. Probably if she did, she could better determine WHERE they were. Of course, it wasn’t like she could triangulate their position from the stars above them. She let out a breath and just hoped that dessert would go smoothly.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“Where are you all going?”

“For a walk,” Cisco responded as he pulled on a jacket.

“It’s late.”

“It’s been a long day,” Felicity argued with him. Harrison Wells wasn’t stupid, he had to at least suspect them to being up to something. “I think we just need some air.”

Wells shrugged. “Fine, I was just going to say that we could watch your ‘X-Files’ or whatever rom-com Caitlin was interested in.”

“‘X-Files’ is a little too scary for her,” Cisco said. It was obvious that they were still far too used to Wells being a friendly rather than an enemy.

Smirking, Wells shook his head. “Well, I will be here…if you should need me.” He paused for a moment. “Enjoy your walk. Make sure you take flashlights if you’re leaving the immediate area…it gets rather dark.”

“Got them,” Felicity said as she held up one and they headed for the door. They were all nearly out when Wells spoke up again, causing them all to come to a quick stop.

“And for the record, Caitlin, no velociraptors or other scary things in those woods…at least not that I have seen…”

They all hurried out of the house after that. It wasn’t until they were fairly far away from the house, flashlights on, that anyone spoke. “I just HAVE to say this,” Cisco spoke up. “He might not have seen anything scary in these woods…but he hasn’t seen himself as the Reverse Flash in this place…that’s freaking terrifying…”

“It really is,” Felicity agreed. “I’d much rather dinosaurs pop out of the woodwork.” She noticed Caitlin’s face and immediately felt bad. “Sorry.”   “How’s your ankle?” Caitlin asked.

Felicity had been ignoring the pain. “It’s fine for now,” she brushed off. She’d taken Tylenol and Motrin and had just been dealing with it. Since they’d been sitting most of the day, it hadn’t been hurting that much, but she had a feeling that by the end of the night it was likely to be swollen and in a hell of a lot of pain. It was then that Felicity also noticed that Cisco was carrying something else besides a flashlight. “What are you doing with that?”

Cisco had brought along a fire extinguisher. It wasn’t huge, it was the kind that you kept in a kitchen (which was where it had been). She still had no idea WHY he’d brought it along. As far as she remembered, it wasn’t part of the plan. “Cold is the opposite of speed.”

“Seriously?! You think THAT tiny extinguisher is going to STOP the Reverse Flash?” Caitlin questioned incredulously. “That’s not even going to SLOW him!”

“It…might…”

Felicity and Caitlin just looked at him like he was crazy as they walked.

“What?” Cisco asked. “It was the ONLY one there! At least it’s SOMETHING.”

“Do you really think we’re going to have to worry about him coming to look for us?” Caitlin asked nervously and Felicity caught her looking back in the direction of the house.

“Eventually…” Felicity responded honestly. She was fairly sure that there was no way that he’d let all three of them be out too long. It was one thing for him to just let HER go for two days…but the three of them… “We really should be quick.”

“We should move further into the woods,” Cisco said as he pulled something from his pocket. It was crude and fit in the palm of his hand. “The longer we keep this a secret, the longer it has to get a signal out to our teams…if they’re looking.”

“They’re looking.”

“I keep worrying that Barry and Oliver are fighting,” Caitlin said honestly as they continued through the dark forest.

The thought hadn’t not been something that had come to mind, but Felicity had banished it. “Not with all of us gone,” she told them. “They’re going to behave, work together…and if they start to get out of line…Digg’s there to rein them in.”

“Well, also…it’s YOU,” Cisco told Felicity.

“Huh? What?”

“It’s Oliver,” Cisco said. “And it’s YOU. He would likely walk the world by foot if that meant finding you—“

“We’re just—“

“Yeah, we’ve seen how you two look at each other,” Caitlin spoke up.

“Speaking of how we look at others,” Felicity said as she looked over to Caitlin. She wasn’t trying to be mean, it was just a statement, but it was one that definitely shut Caitlin up. To the team, HER team, there was no doubt that SHE loved Oliver…but he hadn’t really returned her affection. Sure, he’d always be there to save her, but—

“Wait! Are you saying Caitlin and Barry?” Cisco asked.

Silence.

“OH! MY! GOD! YOU ARE!”

“I’m pretty sure Doctor Wells could hear you,” Caitlin grumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest.

As much as she hated people ganging up on others, at least when it was their little science-y geeky group, it DID keep things lighter. Right now they weren’t dwelling on how things were. It wasn’t what they needed to focus on anyways, they needed to keep fear and any other negative energy away for the time being at least.

“So, I was thinking about all the marathons we’ll have to have when we get home,” Felicity said as they continued into the woods. “And I’ve decided that besides ‘X-Files’ that we better add ‘Doctor Who’ to the list of shows we should NOT marathon with Caitlin.” They’d already given her enough reasons to fear the world with television and movies…and then there was the whole nasty business of metahumans and criminals in the world…thinking about it, Caitlin really didn’t need anything else added to the list by them.

“That’s…smart,” Cisco said slowly. “Weeping angels. Daleks.”

“Vashta Nerada,” Felicity added. “Sharpies and tallies.”

“Snowmen.”

“Cracks.”

“Gas Masks,” Cisco said and then looked over at Caitlin and tried his best English accent. “Are you my mummy?”

Caitlin just stared at him. “I don’t get it.”

“That’s probably for the best.”

“You two aren’t going to confuse me and go back and forth with ‘Doctor Who’ quotes that I don’t understand for the rest of the night are you?”

“Silence will fall.”

Caitlin groaned.

“That was it,” Cisco told her with a light laugh. “I promise.”

Eventually they all decided that they’d gone far enough. They’d walked at least an hour into the woods and it seemed to get darker only the deeper they moved in. “Are we sure that this is programmed right?” Felicity asked as she watched Cisco held it in the palm of his hand. It was a flying transmitter that was supposed to act as a beacon on a frequency that should be monitored by their computers back in their respective bases.

“No.”

“No?” Caitlin asked. “Seriously?”

“It’s not like I WATCHED ‘The Notebook’ with you two,” Cisco defended. “I was working…and not with the proper tools. It’s not like I could run tests or diagnostics.”

“What happened to your genius?”

Cisco’s mouth just hung open for a moment and then he sputtered. “You know, let’s just see if this things works first before criticizing me.” No one argued with that and Felicity helped Cisco to prep the device he’d made. They both pressed the correct buttons and pulled out the little propellors. In an instant, it was off.

Watching, Felicity held her breath. It wasn’t ascending quickly, but it was going and so far…it was working. She found herself turning away when the device got too close to the top of the trees. She didn’t want to watch it hit the trees and come crashing down. When it didn’t, she only knew this because no one else made an awful sound.

“Oh man! This just might work!” Cisco cheered.

It was then that Felicity felt like it was safe enough to look upward. Up in the sky, above the trees..still climbing…was the little invention. It was their beacon. It was more than that though, it was hope.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“It’s been an hour,” Caitlin complained.

“What did you expect?” Cisco questioned.

They had all been sitting and just waiting. Felicity wasn’t sure how long they were going to sit out there, but it didn’t seem TOO late, even with the hour hike back to the house. Felicity felt the same was as Caitlin, though. She just wanted to go home. Even though it was a little silly, she still wanted instant gratification. Right now, all she felt was bored…and a little bit cold.

Cisco shook his head. “Did you expect Barry to race over and find us?”

“Yes,” Felicity and Caitlin answered together.

“He’s always late,” Caitlin complained. “This one time—“

“Oliver’s always late, too,” Felicity chimed in and shook her head.

Cisco just shook his head in response.

“Maybe it didn’t work,” Caitlin brought up. “Why didn’t we get a guarantee on this thing?”

“Because we’re practically in Amish town…”

Felicity opened her mouth to argue with the fact that if they were REALLY in Amish town that they'd have had a lot harder time coming up with the parts they needed, but suddenly the flashlights went dark and when she looked up to look for the device they’d sent upward, Felicity didn’t see the green and red lights that she’d been able to see before.

They were out there.

In the dark.

An hour’s walk from the house.

“What the hell?!” Cisco exclaimed.

All of the sudden, there was a crash nearby and they all moved to it. It took them a moment, but it was clear that their device had crashed and was now smashed. They had no idea if the beacon had worked and actually sent out a signal, all they knew was that the beacon and the flashlights had gone out suddenly.

“Aw crap,” Cisco muttered. “EMP.”

Felicity just stared at Cisco in the dark. EMP. Seriously? That was something that she’d never expected…at least not there. “EMP makes sense,” she said slowly. Her chest tightened with fear. This was something that Wells could have easily done. But why? Why would he do it? And then it hit her. “The signal must have worked…he must have detected it…”

“It went for about an hour,” Caitlin spoke up. “So, that means…that means that everyone else must be on their way to find us, right?”

“Right,” Cisco agreed quickly. “I think…”

Quietly, she just thought about all of the ‘what ifs’ and what they should do next. Obviously they were screwed when it came to having something to light their way. She was really missing things that she’d taken for granted in Starling City like city lights that lit walkways and roads. Those could have really come in right then (except that the EMP would have knocked them out too).

They’d been out there for so long and now without the flashlights, Felicity just turned in a circle. Did they know how to get back to the house? Should they go back? Did that matter? “What are we going to do?” she asked them. The sound of thunder spread through their surroundings, it wasn’t just from one direction, though. Felicity realized that the sound seemed to come from all directions, surrounding them.

They were so screwed.

“We have to get somewhere safe,” Caitlin said, fear in her voice.

“WHERE is safe?” Cisco countered.

“Well, not here…”

Felicity reached out and grabbed Caitlin with one hand and Cisco with the other and just started in the only direction she could think could offer them any hope. The mountains in the far distance. It had taken her two days to get as far as she’d gotten before, but right now…it was all they had. “Just run!” she said. Her ankle was throbbing and on some of her steps she felt wobbly. The truth was, she didn’t think that Wells would do anything to her…not in the way he could potentially hurt Caitlin and Cisco. She wouldn’t allow that to happen.

It wasn’t just the sound of thunder anymore as yellow lightning surrounded them. Felicity couldn’t help but remember Barry telling her about how when he was a boy that his mother was murdered and she was caught in the middle of this yellow and red lightning storm. Nora Allen had died that night—oh, God…it wasn’t just Ronnie and all of those who died the night of the particle explosion. It hit her like a freight train. A sob rang out, one that she didn’t even hear, but her chest felt it and it tightened.

Harrison Wells.

The Reverse Flash.

Her father.

They were all the same.

They were all murderers.

Before she could say anything, the world went tumbling. She watched in horror as Caitlin and Cisco were knocked hard in opposite directions as she was yanked in another direction at a super speed. The breath was knocked violently out of her as her back hit the ground and she was staring up at her father. He hadn’t even bothered to done the yellow speedster costume, he was dressed in black like he’d been at dinner. Air suddenly allowed itself back into her lungs and she could breathe again, but all she could do as she stared up at him was cry. Tears streamed her face and she just lay there. It wasn’t like she could run away from him, she wasn’t fast enough and her ankle was pretty close to being done.

“You broke our deal,” Wells told her sinisterly.

“You killed Nora Allen.”

Wells seemed amused, but didn’t deny it. “I, however, will not kill all of you…even though you have crossed me.” His eyes were on her. “Instead, you’re now stuck in this space…no one around to help you…and none of the power working.”

The EMP.

“So, we’ll see how all three of you do,” Wells said. “I can tell you that on a good day and in good health, it might take you all about a week to hike out of the area and closer to two weeks to make your way to civilization—“

“Our beacon—“

Wells just laughed. “It wasn’t strong enough to reach Starling City OR Central City,” he assured. “I barely picked it up from the house.”

Felicity just stared at him. Was he telling the truth? Cisco was a genius, but he’d made a good point…they hadn’t had the tools, the equipment to KNOW if it would really work. What if it was too weak of a signal? What if no one was coming for them? Were they really THAT far from civilization or was he just saying that? There was no way she’d be walking that far or making her way over a mountain in her condition, she wasn’t sure how she was even going to get back to the house.

“Please…just let them go,” Felicity pleaded.

“With no power, I’m interested in seeing how long you’ll all last the night,” Wells said. “It gets chilly…”

“Speaking of chilly,” Cisco spoke up from behind Wells.

All of the sudden there was a flurry of white fire retardant being sprayed all over Wells. Felicity rolled out of the way, not sure what was going to happen but definitely not wanting it on her. She stopped and looked over to where Wells was. Suddenly, he let out a frustrated sigh and Cisco was being knocked backwards. He picked up the tiny fire extinguisher and just seemed more amused by it all. “Did you really think that THIS would stop me? Or slow me down?” Wells asked them all.

Felicity could now see Caitlin, but she was staying back which was probably for the best. She saw that Cisco was moving and hoped that he wasn’t too badly hurt. All she could hope was that they were as screwed as she thought they might be.

Wells was laughing now. “For how smart you all are…you’re all rather dumb…” He looked over at her. “I had high hopes for you, Felicity… You’ve dashed them, but perhaps there’s still time to come to your senses.” He looked back towards where Caitlin and Cisco were. “For now, though, we’ll see how the three of you do finding your way back to the house and keeping warm for the night without power.” He didn’t stick around and was gone in a flash of lightning.

Letting out a shaky breath, she tried to get up and ended up just crumpling back to the ground and letting out a cry. Caitlin and Cisco were at her side and all Felicity could think was that this was all her fault. If she’d cooperated with Wells, if she hadn’t tried to hike out of the area—

“How cold does this place get at night?” Caitlin asked.

“Cold,” Felicity told her. She thought about it for a moment and looked upward. It was partially clouded, but not with a chance of rain. “I was out here for two days…and it rained during that time and I didn’t bring a lot with me.”

“We could huddle together,” Caitlin said. “But I think we really need some sort of shelter and I don’t think we’re going to find that here.” She looked to Cisco. “She can’t walk on that ankle…”

“You can’t just stay out here because of me,” Felicity insisted. She already felt bad enough, she didn’t need them out there freezing with her. She’d been trying to keep still since Wells had left, afraid that her ankle was now broken. It was always possible to further an injury like that, it was something that always worried her when Oliver got seriously injured (like with his knee).

“We’re not leaving you.”

Cisco was talking now. “Can we just help her walk back? If she can’t put weight on it—“

“She can’t,” Caitlin supplied quickly. She was quiet for a moment and was looking at Felicity’s booted foot. “I’m afraid to move it,” she explained. “Right now, the boot is keeping the swelling confined in that space and if the bone has possibly fractured or broken because of walking on it or whatever…then we might misalign it.”

“So, we help her walk back?”

Remaining quiet, Felicity just waited for Caitlin to decide. She knew that this couldn’t be easy. They were out there an hour’s walk from the house with absolutely nothing to help them. When they got back to the house they’d have basic first aid supplies and that would be it. They were all out of their element. It wasn’t like any of them had survived on Lian Yu or anything like that. Felicity had never done survival training or anything remotely close. “I’m suddenly wishing I had found some way to be in Girl Scouts when I was younger…”

“You haven’t picked up the whole survival thing from Oliver yet?” Cisco teased.

“I’ve been on Lian Yu—“

“Didn’t you jump out of a plane?”

“Which I am never doing again, but that was only the first time…and I have no idea how he did it,” Felicity responded. “But I suppose you figure it out…you learn how to adapt when you need to survive.”

“And we’re going to adapt and survive,” Caitlin said firmly. “Cisco, let’s get her up.” She was looking right at her now. “You’re going to keep your weight on your good foot and I want you to keep from putting any weight on the other, okay?”

Felicity nodded and that seemed to be the signal for her to be hoisted up with their help. Slowly, but surely they started to make their way back to the house. “Are we sure this is the right way?” she found herself asking after a few steps.

“No,” Caitlin and Cisco replied together.

“Okay.”

They might be very well lost, but at least they were together. Together, they could do anything. They’d make it together. Felicity just hoped that it was really the right way, though. It was already cold and she really wanted the boot off of her hurt ankle.

Together they’d make it.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

It was cold and she had no idea what time it was. All she knew was that eventually, with so many breaks, they’d found the house. It was dark and she’d known before that Wells wasn’t bluffing. Felicity just didn’t know what to do now. Even IF she wanted to give up, truly give up. To somehow pledge herself to really staying there with Wells, to not escape. Felicity just didn’t know if she could ever truly be sincere about that. She’d ALWAYS want to be somewhere else. She’d ALWAYS hope that somehow Oliver would find her.

She wasn’t broken.

She wouldn’t break.

“Can we be sure it’s safe?” Caitlin asked.

“No,” Felicity said. “But I think the only thing that’s probably really unsafe about it is that there’s no power.”

“Even though the basement is constructed with concrete, I think it’s still going to be the best place to sleep tonight,” Cisco said as they started to walk towards the house. “Just get all of the blankets and stuff and camp down there.”

“Do we know if we have candles?” Caitlin asked. “And medical supplies?”

“There’s a first aid kit,” Felicity told her. She was certain about that. “I don’t know about candles, but I hope so…” Their eyes had already adjusted to the night, but there was something so scary about being in the dark…knowing that you couldn’t turn on the lights was a bit disturbing. It was more primal creepy feeling more than anything else.

It took them longer than before to make their way back to the house from the tree line, but that was because of her. They were all taking it slow, too, because their journey back had taken them so much longer (which was her fault). Felicity just kept feeling guilty and couldn’t let go of the feeling.

The house was silent, dark, and abandoned. They entered slowly, keeping their eyes open and just waiting. Wells wasn’t there, though. It was eerie and Felicity started to worry a bit about if Wells HAD been right about the signal being too weak. What if no one had gotten it? What if it had all been for nothing? What if this was it? They were left there alone and without power or extra supplies? Cisco and Caitlin could hike out, but she couldn’t in this condition…she’d likely need at least a week of rest.

“Sit,” Caitlin told her immediately as they guided her to a couch. “Let’s look for supplies.”

“Maybe we should move into the basement,” Cisco suggested.

“Let’s give Felicity a minute first,” Caitlin insisted.

They’d left her with her foot propped up on the coffee table, but all she really wanted to do was to unlace her boot and pull her foot out of it. Right now it felt like it might burst out of the confines of it. Felicity wasn’t even sure if they’d be able to get her sock off without cutting it off. “I should be helping…”

“You are,” Caitlin insisted. “By not killing yourself…the last thing I need is to have to treat an open fracture.”

Felicity could hear rustling through cupboards and them going in and out of rooms. All she could do was to sit there and wait. It was horrible, but eventually they came back for her. She hated feeling useless.

“Okay, let’s get you to the basement,” Caitlin said.

The move wasn’t hard and took only a few minutes. It was creepy, though, to be in that house in complete darkness. The basement was darker than it had been upstairs. All of the computer equipment, even if they hadn't pirated parts from it…now they were all rendered useless because of the EMP. It was such a waste.

“Okay, I’m going to start moving supplies down here,” Cisco said.

“Be careful,” Felicity said quickly. “This feels like some horror movie…”

“Yeah, I keep thinking the same thing.”

She watched as Caitlin lit a candle and started to go to work removing her boot. Felicity bit down on her bottom lip as Caitlin pulled the boot completely from her swollen ankle and foot. Caitlin tried to roll down the sock and stretch it, but she ended up using the scissors in the first aid box. “How bad?”

“First of all, it’s way too swollen,” Caitlin told her. “It probably would have been worse if you hadn’t been wearing that boot. I don’t like it, but honestly…I’m not going to be able to really tell HOW bad it is until the swelling goes down. We’re going to need to ice it and try to get the swelling to go down as much as possible.” She continued to examine it and just sighed and shook her head. “We don’t have equipment for an x-ray, so we’re going to have to settle for icing, splinting, and you staying off of it…”

Felicity let her head fall backwards until it hit the back of the couch. “I’m going to be useless…”

“Not useless,” Caitlin told her. “Just…stationary.”

That forced a small smile out of her.

“It’s going to get cold down here. So, I’m hoping that swelling will go down, so that it doesn’t get kicked or knocked around because we’re all going to be huddling together.”

“I’ll be fine, the pain’s not THAT bad,” Felicity told her. It wasn’t entirely a lie. It hurt, but it was okay when it was held still. It was a good thing that Caitlin was there, but at the same time…Felicity wasn’t sure how great it was since they couldn’t know exactly how badly her ankle was without an x-ray. With all the electronics fried, it wasn’t like they could even rig something up (if something like that could be made from the pieces they DID have). Caitlin just stared at her. “When I don’t move it, it’s not bad…”

“Mmmhmmm…that’s what I thought,” Caitlin said. “And from what I can see between this first aid kit and bathroom cabinet…there’s really nothing in the way of heavy pain killer. We’ve got Motrin, which will assist in lessening the swelling AND hopefully help with the pain…then you can also take the Tylenol to back it up. It won’t be that strong, even with a higher dose, but it’ll have to do for now.”

Felicity nodded. “I’ll be thankful for anything.”

“I’m going to go and get an ice pack from the freezer. It’s likely not been open since the power went out, so hopefully it’s still cold enough to be useful,” Caitlin said. “And get the pills—“

“Are you sure you should go alone?”

The dark was an odd thing.

There was this primal fear of it.

Most people were afraid as a child, but Felicity was fairly sure that between that and horror movies that running around in the dark was terrifying even if you were an adult. They didn’t even have flashlights. They had nothing. The basement was especially terrifying and maybe it was a part of her deep down that was afraid to be left alone down there.

“I’ll be fine,” Caitlin assured calmly. “Except if Cisco tries to scare me…then I’ll likely kill him.”

Felicity was fairly sure that Cisco knew not to mess with Caitlin in that way (at least not on purpose). It was one thing when life was normal, but not when it was like this…when they had no power and no idea what was going to happen. Did Wells really leave them there to die? How much food did they have? Would they be able to really keep themselves warm enough until morning?

Caitlin left and Cisco replaced her a breath later. He was using the table space that her foot wasn’t taking up to construct something. He had a variety of supplies that didn’t seem like they went together. “I’m going to collect the bedding in a minute, BUT I think I might have figured out how to construct some basic space heaters.”

“Out of that?”

Cisco was suddenly lining up, organizing everything that he’d brought down there. Clay pots, bolts and other hardware, bricks, candles, matches, baking trays, and some pot holders. Felicity had no idea how it was going to work, but was interested in seeing if it would work. “I haven’t ever done this, but in theory…”

“This looks like something on Pintrest.”

“Except it’ll be better because I’m going to be the one who does it,” Cisco pointed out with a smile. “I figure that if I can get two or three working then hopefully it will somewhat heat up this place.”

“Don’t forget, you already wasted the fire extinguisher,” Caitlin quipped as she entered the basement.

“I got it covered. I’m going to get the baking powder on my next trip.”

It took a while, but eventually Cisco had set up a few of his makeshift heaters around the basement. It really did give off heat. It wasn’t the same as a regular space heater, but it would definitely do. The baking powder had been brought down, just in case. Blankets, pillows, water bottles, snacks from the cupboards, and extra clothes had been brought down. Basically, everything that Caitlin and Cisco had thought that they MIGHT need.

Even though she’d been icing her ankle on and off, twenty minutes at a time until they were all ready to drop, it just didn’t seem like the swelling was going down. Caitlin had warned her that that was why doctors normally waited forty-eight hours before casts or anything like that went on. They really needed to properly assess things once the swelling was completely down. So, she’d taken the pills that Caitlin had given her and had cringed all through the temporary splint that Caitlin had made, just to try to keep things from moving.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve had such an interesting dinner since college,” Cisco spoke up.

Felicity smiled. Their dinner right now consisted of crackers, cookies, and everyone’s favorite canned food. Cisco had even figured out that if you wanted the can heated up, you could just set it on top of one of the little heaters he’d made for a few minutes. It was a twisted way of camping, but it was nice…it was nice because Caitlin and Cisco were there.

“If this is what camping’s like,” Caitlin started to say as she crinkled her nose at the bite of canned green beans she had on her fork. “Did either of you read what’s in this stuff? How much preservatives… I mean, the coloring is all wrong…”

Cisco just laughed in response. “I think that we all have different versions of camping, but this is a pretty awesome way to do it…”

“Tents are confusing…” Felicity commented. “I mean, people on TV and in movies make it look so easy. Those things better be labeled and come with some explicit instructions…”

“Or a how-to video.”

“Don’t they make instant tents now?” Caitlin asked. “Also, this will be the ONLY time I sleep on the floor…”

“You can have the couch,” Cisco told her. “But it won’t be AS warm.”

“I think your style of camping is glamping…” Felicity explained. “Though, I don’t know if that’s really camping at that point.”

“No, I think a resort hotel is REALLY my version of camping,” Caitlin explained. “A nice spa on site for a massage…maybe a nice mineral spring…”

“Okay, I’m with you on that one.”

Cisco shook his head. “I might have to agree on that one.” He paused. “Unless like we’re going on a group camping adventure with Oliver and then I’ll do actual camping…as long as there’s cell service.”

“Don’t go to Lian Yu.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

The sound of vibrating was what woke them all. The door to the basement, which they’d barricaded because of the simple fact that they had everything they needed in that basement. It even had a tiny plane-sized bathroom. They all moved to hide, though, Felicity knew it would be obvious to whomever came through the door that people were down there somewhere. They couldn’t hide the heat or blow out all of the candles in time. So, they huddled together and waited.

“Who do you think it is?” Cisco asked in a whisper.

The door was removed and the items that they’d barricaded the doorway with were being pushed aside. Felicity kept feeling like they needed to press themselves further into hiding even though they were out of sight. She found herself biting down on her bottom lip as she found herself digging her hurt foot into the floor to try to push herself back more.

Silence.

They just breathed and waited.

Silence.

Someone had to be there, Felicity kept thinking. If it was Wells, she expected him to use his speed to search the room, but there was no sound of thunder and no yellow lightning. He didn’t speak and he didn’t clear his throat (he did that a lot she’d realized).

Silence.

It was then that she realized that someone WAS in the room. They were silent and moving slowly. Could it be someone who wasn’t a speedster? How the door had vibrated, Felicity had been positive that there had been a speedster on the other side.

Silence.

A boot came into view and the color brought hope to them all. It was familiar and practically made Felicity lunge out and hug it. It was a crimson red that was bordering on burgundy. Peeking out from their spot, they all found out at the same time that it WAS a speedster.

Barry.

Oh, God.

They were saved.

Barry Allen.

The Flash.

The beacon had worked.

“Barry!” Cisco shouted excitedly as he came out of hiding.

Caitlin moved out behind him and seemed like she was a mix of furious and happy. Barry was hugging her a moment later, it was clear that he was relieved to have found them. “You are late! And not even your normal kind of late.”

“I missed you too, Caitlin,” Barry told her. “Where’s Felicity?”

It took them a moment, but she was moved out of hiding. Felicity really hoped that back up was coming. She knew that Barry could get anywhere faster than Oliver, but either Barry was going to take multiple trips or they were going to need help with transportation. “Have you seen Wells?” she asked him. Felicity was hoping that his response would be ‘no’. Wells had made it sound like he’d be watching them, but she was hoping that he was bluffing.

“No.”

“That’s good,” Caitlin said quickly.

Cisco was nodding. “Man, please tell us there’s a plan to get us all out before he comes back.”

“There’s a plan,” Barry confirmed. He looked at Felicity. “How bad is it?”

Felicity shrugged. “We don’t really know yet.”

Caitlin was examining it a moment later. “At least it looks less swollen, so that’s one thing in our favor.”

“Let me get you all home,” Barry said.

“Felicity first.”

“No,” Felicity argued.

Caitlin was glaring a bit at her now. She knew that she meant well. Caitlin was her friend and she was also another woman, there was something more special about a friend not only being of the same gender but also intelligent. They hadn’t known each other long, but they were close. “Felicity—“

“He’s MY father,” Felicity told her. “And if he comes back—“

“Go ahead and take Caitlin first,” Cisco said. “I’ll stay with Felicity.” He turned to Caitlin. “That way you can make sure that everything is ready to check her ankle over once Felicity IS wherever Barry’s going to take us.”

It made sense.

She was so glad that Cisco was on their side.

“Fine,” Caitlin said reluctantly and a bit angry.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

She was the last one out of the house. She’d insisted. Everyone had hated it, but she’d been fine. Wells hadn’t come back. Felicity was excited to go home, to know that everyone was safe and sound…but at the same time, she was afraid of what might come now that she wasn’t in that house that Wells had stashed her in.

Barry had set her on the metal table and in a blink she realized that they were in Starling City. She wasn’t sure how helpful that was going to be for Caitlin since they didn’t have an x-ray machine, but she knew that they’d figure out something. Before she could think another thought, Oliver was there with his hands on either side of her face taking her breath away with a kiss.

Every thought stopped.

It was like her brain turned off for a moment as she returned the kiss and just enjoyed the beautiful moment that was going on between them. For years now, she’d waited…she’d hoped…she’d dreamed… It was better than she’d ever imagined.

It was true.

When Oliver finally pulled away, Felicity blinked rapidly. “Uh…hi…”

“So, were you telling Wells the truth when you said that you and Oliver were practically engaged?” Caitlin brought up.

Oliver looked confused now, but Felicity wasn’t ready to get into that yet. She’d only said that to try to show Wells how much she cared about Oliver. Felicity had hoped that her love for Oliver would be enough for Wells to just leave him alone. “It’s not important right now,” Felicity said quickly as her fingers lingered on his shirt. Her eyes darted down and she wished that this moment had been more private…and that they’d have the time to continue and talk about it. She knew that Oliver didn’t like to talk about his feelings, but he’d just shown her…which was practically like him shouting from a rooftop that he loved her.

“You know, I think it’s pretty important,” Diggle spoke up.

Felicity turned and sent him a glare. Diggle had been such a good friend to her and Oliver, but he’d also been one who had seen all the signs of how much they cared for each other and had tried to help and intervene here and there when he’d seen an opportunity. He was a good guy, but right now…it just wasn’t the time.

“Can we move on?” Felicity asked. When she looked back to Oliver, he seemed a little hurt. “For now,” she added with a whisper as her hand moved down his arm until she found his hand and took it with a squeeze.

“We need to work on getting you seen here,” Caitlin brought up. “You guys just don’t have the equipment needed.”

“What about the gunshot wound from before?” Diggle brought up.

That’s how this had all started.

A gunshot wound.

Barry had brought her to STAR Labs and Caitlin had been there to take care of her. Wells had been the one who had sent him to get her. He knew, as if he’d known it were coming. Felicity didn’t think that he’d put out a hit or anything, but it was still odd and suspicious as she thought back to that moment.

“Mr. Diggle is right,” Caitlin spoke up. “That really should be looked at…along with your ankle…”

“I told you we needed an x-ray machine,” Felicity told the guys.

“I don’t want you to go alone,” Oliver told her, protectiveness thick in his voice.

Felicity stared at him. Everything had been worth it, she felt all of the sudden. Oliver, Diggle, Roy, and Barry…they were all safe. Caitlin and Cisco were safe and back…not quite home, but close enough. This was really where they all belonged, together.

“So, I won’t.”

 *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Oliver entered the Foundry with Felicity, who was on crutches, and he seemed ready to get down to business. “We need a plan.”

“That’s what I’ve been working on,” Cisco said excitedly.

“Please tell me that it includes something cool,” Roy said as he joined Cisco at his side.

Cisco shrugged as everyone gathered around. “So, what’s one of the things that we KNOW can slow down a speedster?”

“Cold,” Barry answered almost instantly.

“Like that cold gun,” Felicity said slowly. She suddenly felt sick. A mix of complicated and conflicting emotions hit her and she stepped away from the table. She felt like she couldn’t listen to this…that it was possible that she couldn’t be apart of that plan.

“Felicity?” Oliver asked.

She hadn’t told him.

Barry knew.

Had he told them?

Tears filled her eyes and she tried to think of the best way to tell them all, but it just seemed like telling them it as simply as possibly was really the best plan. “Harrison Wells is my father,” Felicity said. “I didn’t know—I mean, I remember my father…sort of…but I don’t remember him being Harrison Wells…and—“

“Felicity…”

“No matter how horrible a person he is,” Felicity continued, unable to stop. “No matter how many deaths he’s responsible for…”

Nora Allen.

Ronnie Raymond.

So many others.

“He’s still my father,” Felicity managed to get out. “And I just…I can’t—“

“This plan isn’t to kill him,” Cisco said gently.

“That’s not what any of us want,” Caitlin added. Her voice was soft and Felicity was actually a little surprised by her calm response. Caitlin had been affected because of Ronnie and because she’d worked with Wells. She had been part of STAR Labs before the explosion and after, Wells had made her one of his pawns. “But he has to be stopped…”

“And he’ll probably not stop coming for you,” Barry brought up.

“He might be twisted, but he’s still your father,” Diggle said. “And what parent wouldn’t want to protect their child? That’s what Wells thinks he’s doing, right?”

He was right.

Felicity nodded.

“The thing is,” Oliver said as he wrapped an arm around her. “Harrison Wells doesn’t understand that family isn’t always something in the blood…even though we’re two separate teams…we’re ONE family.”

In that moment, Felicity was so proud of Oliver.

“Team Flash and Team Arrow!” Cisco said excitedly. Suddenly he was sucking in air and from the odd sound he was making, Felicity could tell he was excited. His hands moved out in front of him and started to move outward, as if he were revealing a sign, as he spoke next. “Team…Flarrow…”

Oliver crunched up his face. “I hate it.”

“I don’t,” Barry spoke up.

“Of course you don’t.” Oliver shook his head and looked over at Barry. “You probably think hashtags are a great idea, too.”

“Do you even KNOW what a hashtag is and what it’s used for?”

Oliver didn’t respond.

They were definitely a family.

She loved them.

All of them.

“You know what? Let’s move on…” Felicity said a moment later, trying to push past the awkwardness. They had work to do. A lot of work to do. Wells wouldn’t leave them alone for long. “So, the cold gun. Like the one that Captain Cold used.”

“Right,” Cisco said. “I think we need to take this to Central City, though.”

“Central City?” Roy asked. “But we’re here…won’t he come to US?”

“But then how will we get him back to the Pipeline? He has to be contained,” Caitlin pointed out.

Felicity nodded. “And if we were going to transport him to say…a top secret prison on Lian Yu, we’d still have to have some kind of secure containment in order to keep him from breaking out until he got there…and that’s a long trip…”

“So, we build him a freezer box,” Roy said.

“He’s not completely off on that,” Barry spoke up. “If we were to build some kind of container that would use the cold gun’s tech to keep it super cooled, then in theory—“

“In theory,” Cisco echoed.

Oliver looked to Cisco. “Can you build it?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe?” several people echoed.

Cisco Ramon was always a very confident person when it came to his inventions, especially when he had the right tools at his disposal. It was a daunting task, though, Felicity realized that. There was also the fact that they didn’t have days, weeks, or even months to work on it. They needed it thrown together as soon as possible. Felicity just didn’t know if they could do it before the Reverse Flash showed up. They had to be fast because Felicity knew that no matter how organized and good they were, there was no way that Oliver, Barry, Diggle, and Roy could go out into the field and take down Wells. He was faster and better and—

“Why is Wells faster than Barry?” Felicity found herself asking.

“What do you mean?” Caitlin asked.

“Wells…the Reverse Flash…he’s faster…stronger…than The Flash, but if he got his power from the particle accelerator…”

“Oh Man! Are we saying that he already had his powers and he purposely ‘infected’…for lack of a better word…Barry and all of those other people in order to MAKE them into metahumans?” Cisco asked.

Silence filled the Foundry.

“Well, none of that really matters right now,” Oliver spoke up. The silence broken and everyone was looking to him. “All that matters right now is stopping and containing Wells…we can push for answers later…” He looked to Cisco. “How long?”

“I don’t even know what we need yet,” Cisco blurted out, caught off guard.

“But if you had to guess…”

“How quickly can you get what I need?”

“In a flash.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

It had taken longer than a day and Oliver hadn’t let her out of his sight for more than a minute and even then she had to fight him on it, but everyone needed at least a moment of privacy here and there. Most of them were running on caffeine and the only sleep they’d had was when they’d passed out at a keyboard.

“I don’t like this," Oliver said.

“He’s not going to hurt me,” Felicity insisted.

“We can’t really know that,” he reminded.

He was right.

“It’s the only choice we have, Oliver.”

“You’ve always taught me that that’s always another way.

She knew why he was saying this. He was scared. So was she. Harrison Wells was a wildcard and none of them were REALLY prepared for what was coming. Cisco was just finishing up his fifth diagnostic and double checking all of the connections. He was using Barry to make sure that the container would hold up to Wells’ super speed. Felicity grabbed Oliver’s hand, they’d been in the middle of everything since she’d gotten back from the hospital.

Leading him away, she pulled Oliver to a corner of the Foundry that people didn’t tend to go to. It was where the cot that Oliver used to sleep on was. They sat down, side by side and hand in hand. Felicity’s head fell on his shoulder and eventually their released hands so that Oliver’s arm could wrap around her. They needed this. They didn’t need to talk. They just needed to have a moment.

“I thought I lost you…”

“You’re never going to lose me,” Felicity told him, her head turning into his shoulder as she took in his scent. She didn’t care which Oliver smell it was, it was Oliver…it was home. HE was her home. Her hand reached up and covered his heart. “You’re never without me, Oliver.” Eventually, Felicity ventured a look up at him and found him staring at her, she didn’t know for how long. It was something had clicked between them, though. It was like everything that they’d both been feeling for so long…and everything that had happened had pushed them to this point. It had shown them that life was too short and that living a miserable life wasn’t living at all.

“Are you sure about all of this?”

“No,” Felicity told him truthfully and looked down for just a moment before looking back up at him. She didn’t need to ask him what he was talking about, she knew. “But he’s still my father and—“

“We can’t be sure that Cisco’s container will hold him.”

“We can’t be sure that he won’t try to kill every one of us either,” Felicity reminded. “But…I believe in us…in you…” Her eyes never left his. She was terrified of what might happened, but they’d faced big bads before. Whenever the odds were stacked against them, that was when they came out on top. They were all working together on this, after all, there wasn’t anything that they couldn’t do.

“I just, I don’t want to lose you…whether it be from this world or if the container doesn’t work.”

Felicity just stared at him for a long moment.

The container. They kept talking about it like it was a piece of tupperware to store leftovers in. It was so serious and it was hard to dwell on the ‘what ifs’. They were ugly, almost as ugly as what could happen if things don’t go as planned. She already knew that Oliver hated this plan, she hated this plan…she hated being bait. This time, though, there was really no way around it. Cisco had offered to try to construct some kind of hologram, too, but it was all too much.

 

“The time will come…when one of us will die…or be killed…or whatever it may be,” Felicity said slowly and quietly. Her eyes didn’t leave his. She wanted to know that she meant every word. “The one thing that I know, above all else, is that I love you.” She smiled at him, bright and silly at the same time. “I love you, Oliver Queen…” Felicity cupped his cheek. “And though what we do may be dangerous…I’m determined to cling to a hopeful future…one with a dog…and rockers on the porch…” She let out a quiet laugh that only made her smile brighter as she thought about the picture in her head. “Of you yelling at kids to get off the yard…and no matter what happens…whether this becomes something more…or whether we’re just best friends when we’re old and grey and wrinkly… I will always be here for you and nothing in this world is ever going to change that. Nothing you can do will change that. She leaned in and kissed him, hard and yet soft. “I see who you are, Oliver Queen…” she whispered against his lips. “Beyond the mask and the hood and all of the facades…I see YOU.”

Her words didn’t only seem to be sinking into him, but they were sinking into her as well. She meant every word. She didn’t regret saying anything she’d said. All she regretted was all the time that they’d missed out on, but she knew that they’d make up for it. They were together and when they were together…whether it was just her and Oliver or Team Arrow or Team Flash…or Team Flarrow…they were together and nothing was going to stop them.

"Sometimes I think a little TOO clearly,” Oliver finally spoke up. “You see me better than I see myself, Felicity…” There was this smile on his face, one that she hadn’t seen before. He was happy…and there were other emotions that she hadn’t seen before. Content? At peace? She wasn’t quite sure what it was, but she liked it. She wanted to see more of it. “Why is that?”

“Because I’ve always loved you, Oliver…even when I wasn’t IN love with you.”

“There was a time when you’re weren’t IN love with me?” he teased lightly.

She let out a laugh. “It’s like they say…I fell in love with you slowly…and then all at once…”

“I feel the same way,” Oliver told her. “I keep trying to think back to when it happened…and all I can think about every moment I’ve known you is how I love you and how adorable you always were in those early moments when all I did was lie to you…and you helped me anyways.”

“And I always will.”

They just stared at each other in silence, silly smiles on their faces. It was really like they’d known each other their whole lives, like it hadn’t been two to three years. Was that what people talked about when they talked about soul mates and best friends? Felicity was starting to think that Oliver was both for her.

“Sorry to interrupt, am I interrupting?” Cisco asked as he came into view. He didn’t wait for them to respond. “But I think we’re ready to go…whenever you know…you guys are… Everyone else is back.”

“Okay, thanks Cisco,” he replied. Oliver surprised her, his fingers on her chin as he kissed her right there in front of Cisco like it was something they did every day. Felicity wasn’t going to push him away, though. Instead, she kissed him back, her hand in his short hair.

“Okay then,” she heard Cisco mutter and heard footsteps.

“it’s about damn time,” she swore she heard Diggle say in the distance.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

“How is this going to work exactly?” Diggle asked.

Verdant was closed above them, so they didn’t have to worry about innocent bystanders in the area. The container, though, was IN the Foundry, it was a tight space. That wasn’t a problem for a speedster, but it made it more difficult for the rest of them.

“Have we even spotted him in the area?” Roy asked.

“They spotted a yellow streak about an hour ago,” Barry reported.

Felicity looked to Oliver, who had ‘I don’t like this’ written all over his face. This was HER choice, though. Wells was HER father. They couldn’t just kill him, she didn’t think she could live with that. “I’m not fast enough to lead him back here, he could grab me before I make it three steps…”

“But I could get you back here.”

Everyone looked at Barry. “Dude, I hate to say it,” Cisco spoke up. “But technically…he’s been faster than you—“

“It’ll be different this time.”

Felicity didn’t know what other choice they really had. They needed to make this as smooth as possible. “What about the cold gun?” Felicity asked.

“Cold…gun?” Cisco asked slowly. “I made the container…COLD container…”

“IS there still a cold gun at STAR Labs?”

“Oh… OH!”

They needed something that could help give them an advantage, just in case things didn’t go quite as planned. Wells wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t just going to walk right into the container. He was going to fight. It was what they’d do. There was also the basic fact that the cold would affect Barry and his speed, too, it wasn’t just Wells.

“Captain Cold has one, but I had made a prototype,” Cisco spoke up after a few minutes, slowly at first and then quicker. “I never really fully tested it because by the time it was constructed I realized that it had so much more potential and I had already seen enough flaws that I just flat out started over.”

“So, you’re telling us that it’s not worth it?” Caitlin asked.

“No.”

“Then what?”

“It’s going to need work…and I don’t know that we have that time.”

Silence.

“We’re going to have to make it work,” Oliver said. “Tell Barry where it is.”

Cisco didn’t look happy about it, but they needed something that they could use against Wells. Sure, Oliver could shoot arrows at him, but it was clear that the Reverse Flash was faster than Barry. It wasn’t the same. Cisco gave Barry all the information he needed and he was off to Central City to retrieve it, leaving only a whoosh behind him.

Felicity tried to think and then looked over at Caitlin. “Do we know if the Reverse Flash has the exact same abilities as Barry?”

“Super speed, obviously,” Caitlin replied confused.

“But super healing?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Why?”

“Obviously he’s fast, but if Oliver can hit Barry, then there’s a chance he and Roy can hit him with an arrow,” Felicity said. “When we were faced with a siege of Mirakuru soldiers, we filled all of the arrows that could hold Tibetan pit viper venom—“

“But we don’t have any more,” Roy interrupted.

Felicity’s brain was on a roll, or so she felt. She pointed to Roy. “We do NOT and it likely wouldn’t faze the Reverse Flash much because of his increased metabolism, BUT we could fill them with something that would cause physical harm…even if it just slows him down…something like liquid nitrogen…”

Caitlin nodded slowly. “Everyone else just needs to be careful, he’s fast…he could throw it back…”

“It would be worth it,” Oliver put in his two cents.

“Maybe we should see about attaching explosives to those arrows, too…that way it sprays the area around him too,” Diggle brought up.

“I’ll get on it,” Cisco said. A moment later, Barry was back with the prototype. “I'll get on all of it."

“I’ll help,” Felicity told him.

“And whatever I can do,” Barry spoke up.

“Actually, Barry…maybe The Flash should get out there…let us know if you see the Reverse Flash,” Oliver suggested. “He may be closer than we think. It would give us an early warning system.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

The whooshing and the thunder in her ears was drowning out everything else around her. Her head was pounding as the world raced past her. It wasn’t the world that raced past her, though, it was HER that raced past the world itself. Barry was carrying her and as she looked out at the world, she realized for a brief moment that this might not be for anything at all. Yellow lightning caught up to them and was even surpassing them.

Wells.

The Reverse Flash.

Felicity wasn’t sure how far they were from the Foundry, but it didn’t seem close enough. Their plan hinged on Wells being able to be stopped, contained, and kept secure. She was confidant in the team, but she wasn’t sure how confidant she was in thinking that Wells could be contained. It was putting everyone in danger, which was something that Felicity hadn’t wanted in the first place.

They wanted to be there.

They’d all made that clear to her.

They were all a family.

Nothing could change that.

The world raced, though, and then the sudden stop make her feel ill as she was pretty much dumped out of Barry’s arms before he whooshed away in order to prepare for Wells. Cisco was there with the cold gun prototype and she found herself being pulled back by Caitlin who was looking her over. Felicity didn’t know why, maybe it was because she hadn’t said anything or maybe it was just the look on her face. This was becoming hard for her, she just didn’t know if this was going to work…

“You okay?” Caitlin asked.

“Just…a little dizzy…and maybe a little car sick…or speed sick…can you be speed sick?” Felicity questioned. It wasn’t like it was the first time that Barry had carried her somewhere using his super speed, but never so much and in so many different directions on purpose. There was a commotion above them and all Felicity could think about was what it could be from and who it might involve. Her stomach twisted more and she pushed Caitlin away. “You have to hide.” Caitlin was really only present in case there was a medical emergency, because she had wanted to help…so they had told her she had to stay hidden. She couldn’t be out in the way. Felicity knew that was a hard thing to do when you wanted to help, but it was for everyone’s safety that way.

The yellow lightning was seen before the boom of the thunder could hit her ears. His hand was on her arm as she heard blurred words that came from Wells, ones that her brain couldn’t put together because he was going so fast, but then all of the sudden, she went flying across the Foundry. A pained scream could be heard behind her. For a moment, she just breathed and steadied herself before finally looking back.

Wells was there, dressed as the Reverse Flash, he’d stopped and she was pretty sure that the cold gun at been used on him. It hadn’t really stopped him, though, he was moving towards her. There was determination in his cold eyes. All Felicity kept thinking over and over was that she couldn’t be his daughter.

Her father couldn’t be Harrison Wells.

Her father was a good man.

Her father was—

She screwed her eyes shut and reminded herself that that didn’t matter. Not now. Not ever. Family was who SHE decided was family. People that SHE choose to surround herself with. That wasn’t Wells. Even if he WAS her father and she didn’t want to kill him, that didn’t mean that she had to accept him as part of her family. He had only contributed to her biological make-up and a small portion of her early upbringing. That was it. That didn’t make him her family.

“Please!” Felicity yelled. “They love me! They’re my friends! They’re the people who have supported me! They’re the people that I love! They’re the people that I call family! PLEASE! DON’T HURT THEM!” Tears streamed down her eyes and for a moment, it seemed to still him. When his eyes drifted to their cold container, he seemed to suddenly fume.

A scream escaped him, an angry one, and he started to move again. Cisco was yelling now and Felicity found herself moving before she really realized Cisco’s words. She’d ducked down and looked over to see Caitlin dropped down too from her hiding place under the stairs. Above them, the cold gun’s beam was swept in a circle. The air was chilling and Felicity wasn’t sure if they should really all be down there breathing in that air or even around it. The gun was super cold, it wasn’t just regular cold.

The sound of arrows and gunshots soon filled the combined space and Felicity made herself as small as possible. Even though it wasn’t helping, she knew that it was the smart thing to do. Right now, all she could do was wait…

“You think a bit of COLD is going to stop me?” Wells bellowed.

When Felicity looked over, it was clear that he was visibly slowing. The cold was working. How long would that continue though? How would they get him into the container? Arrows let loose and the liquid nitrogen was hitting him, which currently only seemed to make him groan and hiss. Out of nowhere, Caitlin went running past her and towards Wells. “Caitlin! No!” she shouted, trying to reach out to stop her, not wanting her to get hurt. It was pointless, though, Caitlin was already past her reach.

Scrambling forward, she tried to grab at Caitlin, determined to keep her friend safe. Caitlin was part of her family, she feared for Caitlin’s safety. But before Felicity could reach her or the fabric of her clothing, Caitlin was stabbing Wells with a syringe. He looked towards both of them, a slow mischievous smile spread across his face before he suddenly swatted them back and away. He moved, but it obviously wasn’t working well. Wells was moving slowly, but he was moving.

Reaching out, her arm protectively spread out to Caitlin and pushed her back as she used her heels to shove herself back. Wells moved quickly for only a moment before he suddenly stopped and swayed a bit. It seemed like that was all everyone needed before they all simultaneously attacked Wells with cold. Eventually, he just seemed to pass out.

No one moved.

Silence.

“We don’t have much time,” Caitlin spoke up after a moment passed.

“What did you give him?” Barry asked from the top of the stairs.

“The same sedative that he made me give you before,” Caitlin explained.

That was all everyone seemed to hear. Suddenly, everyone was moving to grab Wells. All she could do was sit there, staring. Felicity didn’t really know how to feel about it all. Fear ran rampant through her chest and all she could do was wait. Even if Wells was contained, she knew that nothing was permanent. Nothing was guaranteed.

“You okay?”

“Felicity?”

“Give her some space.”

“Hey, Felicity…”

It was like the world was blurring.

Something snapped, though. Maybe it was because she realized that Wells was finally locked and contained in the cold container and that she could see the blowers that dispersed the super cold was blowing. Blinking a couple of times, she realized that everyone was standing around her, though at a distance, and that Oliver was crouched down besides her.

“You okay?” Oliver asked as his fingers brushed a rogue strand away from her face.

Her head responded before her lips could. “Yes.”

“We lost you for a moment.”

“I’m here,” she assured and allowed him to help her to her feet. Felicity stared at the container from a distance at first. As she moved closer, she noticed that people moved to let her through. She didn’t need to see HIM, she just needed to KNOW he was contained. That they were all safe. That she was safe.

“We should contact ARGUS,” Diggle spoke up.

“Are you sure he can be kept contained?” Barry questioned.

“There are no guarantees in life, Barry,” he responded. “But I can tell you that there’s no way that ARGUS is going to want this kind of danger out in the world.”

“What about the Suicide Squad?” Roy asked.

“Not even for that.”

They were all good questions and Diggle was right. She really wasn’t sure sometimes if ARGUS was good or evil, but one thing she did know was that GOOD people worked for ARGUS because Lyla worked for them. If Lyla and Diggle trusted them…and it seemed like Oliver, then that was good enough for her.

“The sooner, the better…and the safer for the city,” Felicity finally said as she turned away and headed towards the steps that led up to Verdant. She’d seen enough. She just couldn't be down there anymore. She needed air. Felicity just needed to be away.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Two weeks had passed and Felicity wasn’t sure if she’d ever felt more relieved in her life. ARGUS had sent Wells to the Lian Yu prison and they even had a video feed, so she could check in to make sure he was there any time she started to worry. It was good to know that he was so far away. Even though Wells was a speedster and could be there in a flash, it was still comforting.

“You okay?”

“Mmmhmmm…”

“You looked sad.”

“I was just thinking…”

“You know, everyone’s okay,” Oliver told her.

“I know,” she said as she turned to him. He’d just come back from running patrol rounds. Roy and Diggle were nowhere to be seen, likely getting dinner if they knew what was good for them. She was hungry and she’d come into the Foundry early in order to make sure that she’d made adjustments for them so that things would run smoother with the team.

“Barry said something about a game night,” Oliver brought up. “I thought it was ridiculous when he suggested it, but the more I think about it…and everything that happened…” He moved closer to her. His hood was down and his mask was removed. Oliver crouched down in front of her and his hand reached out to brush her cheek gently. “Everything that I almost lost…”

“You’re never going to lose me, I told you.”

He smiled. “I think that we need to live more…outside of the Foundry.”

“Does Oliver Queen even know how to play games?”

“I didn’t even ask Barry what kinds of games are involved,” Oliver said as he made a concerned and yet curious face.

Felicity beamed. “I don’t think it’s going to be beer pong.”

“Good,” Oliver said.

“I’m thinking that Monopoly and Apples to Apples might be too general for them…” Felicity tilted her head and smiled even brighter. “I’m almost hoping for something like Cards Against Humanity or Settlers of Catan.”

“I feel like I should be concerned.”

“It’ll be fun.”

“So, that’s a yes?”

Learning forward, she let her forehead rest against his, her finger dancing along his bare cheek. “That’s a yes.” Felicity’s forehead rolled along his for a moment before her hands held either side of his face and she kissed him. “Yes,” she whispered again.

This was her family.

This was the life she wanted to live.

She was free.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

The End.


End file.
